List of Harvard University people
This is a table of famous people affiliated with Harvard University, including graduates, former students, and professors. For a list of Harvard's presidents, see President of Harvard University.
Seven Presidents of the United States have graduated from the halls of Harvard University. These include (John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John F. Kennedy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt). Rutherford B. Hayes) and George W. Bush graduated from the highly respected law and business schools, respectively. Bill Gates, the world's wealthiest person as of 2004, attended Harvard College but did not graduate. Some fifty Nobel Prize winners have been associated with the University.
NNDB has a similar list, but with an emphasis on current fame, rather than historical significance.
- People:
Contents
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D
E
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Harvard |
|---|---|---|
| Edward Eager (1911-1964) | writer of children's literature | College c. 1932 |
| Thomas Eagleton (born 1929) | 1972 Democratic U.S. vice presidential nominee, United States Senator | Law School 1953 |
| Tsakhiagiyn Elbegdorj (Elbegdorj Tsakhia) (born 1963) | leader of non-violent revolution that brought democracy to Mongolia, two time Prime Minister of Mongolia, three time Member of Parliament | Kennedy School of Government M.P.A. 2002 |
| T. S. Eliot (1888-1965) | poet | College 1909; M.A. 1910; Ph.D. 1914 |
| Noam Elkies (born 1966) | mathematician | M.A. 1986; Ph.D. 1987; professor (1990-) |
| Daniel Ellsberg (born 1931) | leaker of the Pentagon Papers | College 1952; Ph.D. 1963 |
| Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) | writer | College 1821; gave name to Emerson Hall |
| Sam Ervin (1896-1985) | United States Senator | Law School 1922 |
| Edward Everett (1794-1865) | United States Secretary of State | College 1811; M.A. 1814 |
F
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Harvard |
|---|---|---|
| John K. Fairbank (1907-1991) | East Asian scholar | College 1929 |
| James Fallows (born 1949) | journalist | College 1970 |
| Susan Faludi (born 1959) | author | College 1981 |
| Denise Faustman | Medical doctor and pioneer in diabetes research | Assoc. Professor of Medicine |
| Russ Feingold (born 1953) | United States Senator | Law School 1979 |
| Douglas Feith (born 1953) | U.S. Under secretary of Defense for Policy | College 1975 |
| Martin Feldstein (born 1939) | economist | College 1961; professor |
| Patrick Fitzgerald (born 1961) | special prosecutor in the Plame affair, United States Attorney | Law School 1985 |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick (born 1982) | NFL quarterback | College 2005 |
| Jonathan Frakes (born 1952) | actor | College (Master's degree) |
| Barney Frank (born 1940) | U.S. Congressman | College 1962; Law School 1977 |
| Al Franken (born 1955) | comedian | College 1973 |
| Felix Frankfurter (1882-1965) | Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | Law School 1906 |
| Bill Frist (born 1952) | United States Senator, Majority Leader | Medical School 1978 |
| Robert Frost (1874-1963) | poet | attended College (1897-1899), did not graduate; awarded an honorary degree in 1937 |
| Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) | designer, architect | attended College, did not graduate |
| Victor Fung (born 1944) | Businessman & Chairman of Hong Kong Airport Authority | Ph.D. in Economics 1972 |
G
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Harvard |
|---|---|---|
| William Gaddis (1922-1998) | novelist | attended College, did not graduate |
| William H. Gates (born 1955) | co-founder of Microsoft; as of 2006, wealthiest person in the world | attended College, did not graduate |
| Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (born 1950) | African American studies scholar | professor |
| Frank Gehry (born 1929) | architect | attended Design School, did not graduate |
| David Gergen (born 1942) | advisor to four U.S. presidents | Law School 1967 |
| Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814) | Vice President of the United States | College 1762 |
| Daniel Gilbert | social psychologist | professor at the Department of Psychology |
| Walter Gilbert (born 1932) | molecular biologist; Nobel Prize winner | College; professor |
| Ruth Bader Ginsburg (born 1933) | Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | attended Law School, later transferred |
| Sheldon Lee Glashow (born 1932) | physicist; Nobel Prize winner | Ph.D. 1959; professor |
| Roy J. Glauber | physicist; Nobel Prize in Physics winner | Ph.D. |
| Daniel Goldhagen (born 1959) | political scientist; controversial author of Hitler's Willing Executioners | Ph.D. recipient, previously an Associate Professor of Government and Social Studies |
| Alberto Gonzales (born 1955) | Attorney General of the United States | Law School 1982 |
| Ellen Goodman (born 1941) | Boston Globe columnist | Racliffe 1963 |
| Nelson Goodman (1906-1998) | philosopher | |
| Doris Kearns Goodwin (born 1943) | historian, author | Ph.D. 1968 |
| Richard Goodwin (born 1931) | speechwriter for Kennedy and Johnson administrations, author | Law |
| Al Gore (born 1948) | Vice President of the United States | College 1969 |
| Jamie Gorelick (born 1950) | Member of 9/11 Commission | College 1972; Law School 1975 |
| Edward Gorey (1925-2000) | illustrator | College 1950 |
| Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) | biologist | professor |
| Bob Graham (born 1936) | United States Senator, Governor of Florida | Law School 1962 |
| Donald Graham (born 1945) | The Washington Post Company chairman and CEO | College 1966 |
| Fred Grandy (born 1948) | actor, politician | College 1970 |
| Jennifer Granholm (born 1959) | Governor of Michigan | Law School 1987 |
| Clifton D. Gray (1875-1944) | President of Bates College | College 1897 |
| Milton Green (1913-2005) | runner, former world recorder holder in hurdles | College |
| Brian Greene (born 1963) | Famous in the world of String Theory. Columbia University Professor | College 1984 |
| Andre Gregory (born 1934) | theatre director, actor | College 1956 |
| Walter Gropius (1883-1969) | architect | professor; dean of Harvard Graduate School of Design |
| Fred Gwynne (1926-1993) | actor | College 1951 |
H
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Harvard |
|---|---|---|
| John Hagelin (born 1954) | third-party presidential candidate | Ph.D. 1981 |
| David Halberstam (born 1934) | author | College 1955 |
| G. Stanley Hall (1844-1924) | First president of APA and Clark University | Ph.D. 1878 |
| John Hancock (1737-1793) | President of the Continental Congress | College 1754 |
| John Harbison (born 1938) | composer | College 1960 |
| David C. Hardesty | President of West Virginia University | J.D. 1973 |
| Katherine Harris (born 1957) | U.S. Congresswoman, Florida Secretary of State during the state's recount in the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election | KSG 1998 |
| Trip Hawkins (born 1953) | founder of Electronic Arts and the 3DO Company | College |
| Rutherford Hayes (1822-1893) | President of the United States | Law School 1845 |
| William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951) | newspaper magnate | attended College, did not graduate |
| H. John Heinz (1938-1991) | United States Senator | Business School 1963 |
| Mark Helprin (born 1947) | writer | College, Graduate School |
| Dudley R. Herschbach (born 1932) | chemist; Nobel Prize winner | professor |
| Christian Herter (1895-1966) | United States Secretary of State | College 1915 |
| Alger Hiss (1904-1996) | accused of espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union | Law School 1929 |
| Fred Ho | jazz baritone saxophonist, composer, and bandleader | Sociology 1979 |
| Donald Hodel (born 1935) | United States Secretary of the Interior, United States Secretary of Energy | College 1957 |
| Jason Michael Holly (1980-) | state school scholar, scumbag political consultant, self-important charlatan | Graduate School; M.S. Government 2005 |
| Heisuke Hironaka (1931-) | mathematician; Fields Medal winner | Ph.D. 1960 |
| Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894) | poet, physician | College; Ph.D. 1836; professor |
| Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935) | Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | College 1861; Law School 1866 |
| Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz | historian | Ph.D.; professor |
| Drew Alexander Housman | basketball player | College 2009 |
| Charles Hamilton Houston (1895-1950) | jurist | Law School 1922 and 1923 |
| Rafael Hui (1948-) | Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong | MPA 1983 |
| Josephine Hull (1886-1957) | actress | Radcliffe 1899 |
| Samuel P. Huntington (born 1927) | political scientist | Ph.D. 1951; professor |
I, J
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Harvard |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Ignatieff (born 1947) | Canadian Scholar, Professor & Author, Liberal Party of Canada candidate for Parliament | Ph.D. in History 1976 |
| Walter Isaacson (born 1952) | former CNN chairman and CEO | College 1974 |
| Thomas Jaggar | geologist, founder of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory | College 1897 |
| Henry James (1843-1916) | novelist | attended Law School, did not graduate |
| William James (1842-1910) | philosopher; psychologist | Medical School 1869; gave name to William James Hall |
| James Jeffords (born 1934) | United States Senator | Law School 1962 |
| Philip Johnson (born 1906) | architect | College 1930 |
| Bobby Jones (1902-1971) | golfer | College 1924 |
| Boisfeuillet Jones, Jr. (born 1946) | Washington Post publisher and CEO | College 1968; Law School 1974 |
| Tommy Lee Jones (born 1946) | actor | College 1969 |
K
L
M
N
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Harvard |
|---|---|---|
| Ralph Nader (born 1934) | public advocate | Law School 1958 |
| Mira Nair (born 1957) | film director | College 1979 |
| José Ángel Navarro (1828–1876) | early Hispanic Texas Legislator (1857–1863) | College 1850 |
| Ogden Nash (1902-1971) | poet | attended College (1920-21), did not graduate |
| Howard Nemerov (1920-1991) | poet | College 1941 |
| Grover Norquist (born 1956) | activist | College 1978; Business School 1981 |
| Christopher Nowinski born 1978 | Professional Wrestler | College 2000 |
| Robert Nozick (1938-2002) | libertarian philosopher | professor |
O
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Harvard |
|---|---|---|
| Barack Obama (born 1961) | United States Senator | Law School 1991 |
| Conan O'Brien (born 1963) | talk show host | College 1985 |
| Soledad O'Brien (born 1966) | television host | College 2000 |
| Frank O'Hara (1926-1966) | poet | College 1950 |
| Thomas Oliphant | Boston Globe columnist | College 1967 |
| Daniel O'Keefe | television writer-producer | College 1990 |
| Laurence O'Keefe | Broadway composer-lyricist | College 1993 |
| Markham O'Keefe | Hollywood screenwriter-producer | College 1995 |
| Eugene O'Neill (1888-1953) | playwright | attended College, did not graduate |
| Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (born 1954) | Minister of Finance of Nigeria | College 1981 |
| J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) | physicist, "father of the atomic bomb" | College 1925 |
| Bill O'Reilly (born 1949) | journalist and commentator | KSG 1996 |
| Tim O'Reilly (??-) | founder of O'Reilly Media | College 1975 |
| James Otis (1725-1783) | lawyer influential in American Revolution | College 1743; M.A. 1746 |
| Masako Owada (born 1963) | Crown Princess of Japan | College 1985 |
P, Q
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Harvard |
|---|---|---|
| Theodore Parker (1810-1860) | Unitarian leader | Divinity School |
| Francis Parkman (1823-1898) | historian | Law School |
| George Parkman (1790-1849) | physician | Medical School |
| Milman Parry (??-1935) | scholar of the classics and folklore | professor |
| I. M. Pei (born 1917) | architect | Design School 1946 |
| Benjamin Peirce (1809-1880) | mathematician | College 1829; professor |
| Charles Peirce (1839-1914) | philosopher; mathematician | College 1859 |
| Claude Pepper (1900-1989) | United States Senator, U.S. Congressman | Law School 1924 |
| Charles F. Phillips (born 1909) | Economist, president of Bates College | Ph.D. - Graduate School |
| Frank R. Pierson (born 1925) | screenwriter, film director | College 1950 |
| Steven Pinker (born 1954) | psychologist | Ph.D. 1979; professor (2003-) |
| George Plimpton (1927-2003) | journalist; actor | College 1948 |
| Cole Porter (1891-1964) | composer | attended Law and Graduate Schools, did not graduate |
| Natalie Portman (born 1981) | actress | College 2003 |
| William Proxmire (born 1915) | United States Senator | Business School 1940; M.A. 1949 |
| Robert Putnam (born 1941) | political scientist | professor |
| Daniel Quillen (born 1940) | mathematician; Fields Medal winner | College 1961; Ph.D. 1964 |
| W. V. Quine (1908-2000) | philosopher; logician | Ph.D. 1932; professor (1956-2000) |
R
S
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Harvard |
|---|---|---|
| Edward Said (1935-2003) | coined term Orientalism; Palestinian activist | M.A. ??; Ph.D. 1964 |
| Meredith Salenger (born 1970) | actress | College 1992 |
| Carlos Salinas de Gortari (born 1948) | president of Mexico, (1988-94) | M.P.A. 1973; Ph.D. 1978 |
| Leverett Saltonstall (1892-1979) | United States Senator | College 1914; Law School 1917 |
| Michael Sandel (??-) | political scientist | professor |
| George Santayana (1863-1952) | philosopher | College 1886; Ph.D. 1889; professor |
| Francisco Santos (??-) | Vice President of Colombia | Extension School 1992 |
| Paul Sarbanes (born 1933) | United States Senator | Law School 1960 |
| Surakiart Sathirathai (born 1958) | Foreign Minister of Thailand | Law School; LL.M.; S.J.D. |
| Antonin Scalia (born 1936) | Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | Law School 1960 |
| Elaine Scarry | author | professor of English and American Literature and Language, the Walter M. Cabot Professor of Aesthetics and the General Theory of Value |
| Sydney Schanberg (born 1934) | journalist | College 1955 |
| Phyllis Schlafly (born 1924) | political activist | Graduate School 1945 |
| Arthur M. Schlesinger (1888-1965) | historian | professor; gave name to Schlesinger Library |
| Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (born 1917) | historian, advisor to John F. Kennedy | College 1938; professor |
| Harrison Schmitt (born 1935) | astronaut, United States Senator | Ph.D. 1964 |
| Bill Schneider | journalist, political analyst | M.A. 1969, Ph.D. 1972 |
| Pat Schroeder (born 1940) | U.S. Congresswoman | Law School 1964 |
| Charles Schumer (born 1950) | United States Senator | College 1971; Law School 1974 |
| Julian Schwinger (1918-1994) | physicist; Nobel Prize winner (1965) | professor |
| Pete Seeger (born 1919) | songwriter, singer, activist | attended College, did not graduate |
| Erich Segal (born 1937) | author, screenwriter | College 1958; M.A. 1959; Ph.D. 1965 |
| Peter Sellars (??-) | theater director | College 1980 |
| Amartya Sen (born 1933) | economist; Nobel Prize winner (1998) | professor |
| HM King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah (1945-2001) | Late King of Nepal | attended for one year (1967) |
| Robert Gould Shaw (1837-1863) | abolitionist, Union Army colonel | attended College (1856-1859), did not graduate. |
| Wallace Shawn (born 1943) | actor, playwright | College 1965 |
| Harry Shearer (born 1943) | actor, writer | attended Graduate School, did not graduate |
| Bob Shrum (born 1943) | political consultant | Law School 1968 |
| Elisabeth Shue (born 1963) | actress | College 2000 |
| Jonathan Siegel (born 1962) | Professor of Law, George Washington University | College 1984 |
| Jeffrey Skilling (born 1953) | CEO of Enron | Business School 1979 |
| Burrhus F. Skinner (1904-1990) | behavioristic psychologist | Ph.D. 1931, Researcher till 1936, Professor since 1948 |
| Cordwainer Smith (1913-1966) | East Asian scholar; science fiction writer | faculty |
| William French Smith (1917-1990) | United States Attorney General | Law School 1942 |
| Robert M. Solow (born 1924) | economist; Nobel Prize winner (1987) | College 1947, Ph.D. 1951 |
| Maximo V. Soliven (born 1933) | Decorated Writer; Chevalier (knight) of the National Order of Merit. | Ph.D. 1951 |
| Susan Sontag (1933-2004) | writer, activist | M.A. 1957 |
| Mira Sorvino (born 1967) | actress | College 1990 |
| David Souter (born 1939) | Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | College 1961; Law School 1966 |
| Thomas Sowell (born 1930) | writer, economist | College 1958 |
| Jared Sparks (1789-1866) | historian | College 1819; professor (1838-1849) |
| Eliot Spitzer (born 1959) | New York Attorney General | Law School 1984 |
| Richard Stallman (born 1953) | founder of the Free Software Foundation | College 1974 |
| Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) | poet, novelist | Radcliffe 1897 |
| Theodore Steinbock (1952 - ) | radiologist, author | College and Medical School |
| Ted Stevens (born 1923) | President pro tempore of the United States Senate | Law School 1950 |
| Wallace Stevens (1879-1955) | poet | Special student (1897-1900), did not graduate |
| Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965) | 1952 and 1956 Democratic U.S. presidential nominee, Governor of Illinois | attended Law School, did not graduate |
| Whit Stillman (born 1952) | screenwriter, film director | College 1973 |
| Henry L. Stimson (1867-1950) | United States Secretary of State, United States Secretary of War | M.A. 1889 |
| Andrew Sullivan (born 1963) | blogger, journalist | M.A. 1986; Ph.D. 1990 |
| Lawrence Summers (born 1954) | economist; United States Secretary of the Treasury; Chief Economist for the World Bank | Ph.D. 1982; President (2001-) |
| Charles Sumner (1811-1874) | United States Senator | College 1830; Law School 1833 |
| John E. Sununu (born 1964) | United States Senator | Business School 1991 |
| Nadav Safran (1925-2003) | An expert in Arab politics and former director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies | Professor |
T
U, V, W
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Harvard |
|---|---|---|
| Alvaro Uribe (born 1952) | President of Colombia | Extension School 1993 |
| John Updike (born 1932) | writer | College 1954 |
| Jack Valenti (born 1921) | president of the MPAA | Business School 1952 |
| Courtney B. Vance (born 1960) | actor | College 1982 |
| David Vitter (born 1961) | United States Senator | College 1983 |
| Chris Wallace (born 1947) | television host | College 1969 |
| Mark Warner (born 1954) | Governor of Virginia, co-founder of Nextel | Law School 1980 |
| Stefán Wathne (born 1969) | entrepreneur, heir apparent to the throne of Iceland | College 1992 |
| Alexander Watson | ambassador, diplomat | College 1961 |
| James D. Watson (born 1928) | molecular biologist; Nobel Prize winner | professor |
| John Weidman (??-) | librettist | College 1968 |
| Andrew Weil (born 1942) | medical writer | College 1964; Medical School 1968 |
| Caspar Weinberger (born 1917) | United States Secretary of Defense | College 1938; Law School 1941 |
| William Weld (born 1945) | Governor of Massachusetts | College 1966; Law School 1970 |
| Cornel West (born 1953) | African American studies scholar | professor (1993-2002) |
| Theodore H. White (1915-1986) | journalist | College 1938 |
| William Lindsay White | journalist | College 1924 |
| George Whitesides (born 1939) | chemist | College 1960; University professor (1982-) |
| Richard Wilbur (born 1921) | poet | M.A. 1947; professor |
| Edward Osborne Wilson (born 1929) | biologist | Ph.D. 1955; professor |
| Kenneth G. Wilson (born 1936) | physicist; Nobel Prize winner | College 1956 |
| John Winthrop (1714-1779) | astronomer; mathematician | College 1732; professor |
| Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938) | novelist | M.A. 1922 |
| Henry Austryn Wolfson (1887-1974) | philosopher | Ph.D.; professor |
| Charles W. Woodworth (1865-1940) | entomologist; Founder UCB's Entomology Department | Grad. Student, Researcher (1886-1888), (1900-1901) |
| Elizabeth Wurtzel (born 1967) | writer | College 1989 |
| Paul Wylie (born 1964) | figure skater | College 1991 |
X, Y, Z
| Name | Known for | Relationship to Harvard |
|---|---|---|
| Yamamoto Isoroku (1884-1943) | World War II admiral, Imperial Japanese Navy | visiting student (1919-1921) |
| Takashi Yuasa (born 1955) | Japanese international lawyer | Law School unknown (but entrance to school in 1984) |
| Robert Zoellick (born 1953) | United States Deputy Secretary of State | Law School 1979; KSG 1981 |
| Jeff Zucker (born 1965) | president of NBC Universal | College 1986 |
| Mort Zuckerman (born 1937) | U.S. News & World Report editor-in-chief, New York Daily News owner and publisher | Law School 1962 |
| Edward Zwick (born 1952) | film director | College 1974 |